Her Knight in Billowing Trench Coat
by Lolzers
Summary: Rachel is a broadway star in NY. One night however, the world, as she know it, changes and she finds herself in need of a hero...a hero with hazel eyes and a penchant for hunting vampires. Puckleberry A/U. Rated M for stuff that hasn't happened but will.
1. Another one Bites the Dust

A/N: So, this story has been stuck in my mind for _months_. Literally. It had gotten to the stage where I couldn't work on any of my other stories because it was just there in the back of my mind..._lurking! _But I must warn you, yes there are vampires in this story. No there will be no real main vampire characters, the only reason they're in the story is so that Puck has a job. Also, my vampires don't sparkle. Not that I'm against sparkly vampires, I'm just more of a 'turns to dust in sunlight' fan. There will be a few more chapters, perhaps three or four, I'm not certain. Each one will skip forward a few months, which means the story will move faster (yaaaay!) Anyways, yeah, so here it is- the result of much work! I found that I wrote this in a different style to my other stories, or at least it feels different, I'm not sure in what way but it does... I hope it's still okay and that you guys enjoy it!

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><p>Rachel heaved the heavy back door open and shivered as she stepped out into the cold, dark alley. She pulled her red woollen cape tighter around her; the bitter winter air was especially cold against her face, now cleaned of all stage make-up. She let out a soft contented sigh as she moved forwards stepping into the surging throng of bustling New Yorkers rushing along the Great White Way.<p>

It was early December and she could already feel the frost in the air. She grinned with excitement as she kept up her brisk pace heading towards the subway. She loved this time of year, especially in New York. The city was just magical during the holiday season. There would be that pristine layer of first snow and the smell of hazelnut and cinnamon hot beverages would waft from every vendors cart along the streets. She looked forward to decorating her new apartment, it would be her first Hanukkah with her own place and she wanted it to be perfect. Her Dads were going to come up from Ohio to celebrate with her. She thought about the decent studio apartment she had in Brooklyn. While she may be making the big bucks now, she knew that theatre was a fickle thing and once directors decided she was too old she had no idea what she would do. This was why she hadn't blown all her money on staying in some swanky Upper East Side suite as had her friends, who had acted alongside her in various musicals. She was being responsible and mature, well mostly… She considered herself a well-trained saver, except for the few weak moments when she would happen to be strolling along Madison Avenue and pass the coveted Christian Louboutin boutique, where she would spot a pair of heels placed centre stage in a beautifully designed window display that just needed to be loved by her. She took her usual route home and studied her well-worn, soft black ankle boots with the red soles from her seat on the subway. There were times that she worried that she may in fact have a shoe addiction but then she would peruse her friend, Kurt's, shoe closet (yes, an entire closet dedicated to shoes) and she felt at ease once more.

There was nothing she didn't love about New York, she even found the poorly lit, smelly, crowded subways an entertaining part of New York culture. Rachel enjoyed People Watching. Usually the car would be packed with people and she would have a variety of characters to watch and imagine what their life would be like. However, considering how late her rehearsal for 'Fiddler on the Roof' had lasted until, the subway car she was sitting in was almost empty. The light flickered constantly above her, its greenish hue adding an almost ominous undertone to the journey. There were a teenaged couple seated at the end of the bench across from her. She smiled softly, recalling her high school sweetheart and how different they had been compared to the couple before her. This couple had matching ripped jeans and piercings; the boy had blonde dreadlocks whilst his girlfriend had short spiky red hair. Rachel and Finn had been your typical, clean cut American teenagers. He had been the quarter back on the football team and she had been the slightly geeky, lead vocalist in the schools show choir. She wished her and Finn had been as interesting as the two teenagers engrossed in each other's kisses sitting nearby. They both looked like their tattoos alone could tell many an interesting story. She sighed, suddenly uncomfortably aware of how very single she was at the moment. Glancing around the car once more she spotted an unshaven man dressed in numerous ill-fitting layers and a brightly knitted bobble hat, he had a tartan trolley bag at his feet. Near the back of the car, leaning against the cool, no doubt germ riddled window, was a handsome man with a hard looking chiselled face and unnaturally icy blue eyes. He wore a black hoody with the hood covering some of his well-proportioned face. Rachel felt her cheeks flush when his cold, assessing gaze locked with hers. Well, that was awkward, being caught staring whilst People Watching meant you lost the game. She smiled nervously at the strange man with his broad shoulders and fixed her black handbag more securely on her lap.

She breathed a sigh of relief as the doors to the car slid open once she had arrived at her destination. She was walking along the lonely, darkened street when she heard a solitary set of footsteps following behind her. She swallowed, reassuring herself mentally that she really had nothing at all to worry about. It was New York for heaven's sake! Nobody was going to hassle her here! They'd be too busy rushing to their next destination. Still, the street lamps on her way home from the subway station weren't working very well and even though the journey back to her apartment was short, there would be long stretches of darkness interrupted only by the grim flicker of a faded orange street light. She quickened her pace and clutched her handbag closer to her chest. She strained to hear over the sound of her racing pulse in her ears, the footsteps were getting closer. Rachel quickly threw a harassed glance over her shoulder and felt her gut clench with anxiety. It was that creepy guy from the subway, the handsome one, who had caught Rachel staring at him. She turned back to search frantically in her bag as she once again increased the speed of her walk from brisk to an almost jog. Mace… where on earth was her Mace? She had to have pepper spray or something in her handbag… perfume? Would a well-aimed spritz of her beloved Black XS perfume stun a potential attacker long enough for her to get away? She rummaged in vain, her hand blindly clutching at used biros, scripts, her wallet, random pieces of make-up, some loose change… _really?_ She must have carried pepper spray in every purse and bag she'd ever owned since moving to New York and today of _all _days she decided she wouldn't need it? She silently cursed herself and tried to listen for the footsteps. That's when she realized they had stopped. The street was eerily quiet. She looked back over her shoulder. The stranger was gone. She heaved a relieved sigh and turned back around to continue on her journey home. She was already beginning to smile at her insane, barely averted panic attack when she looked up and shrieked. He was standing right in front of her. His back was to the faded orange glow coming from the flickering street lamp. His face was shrouded in shadows but she knew it was the man from the subway. Rachel stopped screaming as she heard a low, throaty chuckle rumbling from the man in front of her. She shivered and kept her left hand firmly embedded in her handbag.

"Stand back, I- I have a gun!" She stammered, lying through her teeth. A part of her had a feeling this man wouldn't be intimidated by pepper spray, much less an _imaginary_ bottle of pepper spray. She was so mad at herself at that moment. If only she'd taken a taxi home like the rest of her cast mates had. So much for having recession busting habits… doubt they're much good to you when you're _dead_. She pulled herself together and tried to stand tall, which is difficult when you barely pass the five foot mark. "I don't know what you're laughing at." Rachel huffed shaking her bag at him "I-I've killed a man before!" Rachel rolled her eyes internally. Her inner drama queen had gone too far. Who on earth was going to believe she, little geeky Rachel Berry, had killed a _fly_ never mind a _human being_? However, Rachel was nothing if not a dedicated actress. She nodded and widened her eyes at him showing him that she expected him to be terrified of her murderous antics "yes, so, if I were you, I would leave now before I- I…kill you."

The figure stood unmoving and silent before her. She swallowed. What exactly was he trying to do? Bore her to death? Was this a staring match where the winner got her purse? She shuffled from one foot to the other and shivered a little. She wished she'd brought her winter coat instead of her cape. While it made an impressive fashion statement, the cape didn't really keep out the bitter chill. Finally she sighed exasperatedly and demanded "look, mister, what exactly do you want from me?"

The man chuckled again as he took a step towards her. His icy gaze bore down on hers and Rachel tried her hardest not to notice the fact that his laugh wasn't the funny "ha, ha, ha" kind, or even a sarcastic "hah, hah". It was more of an evil "_mwahahahahaha!_" She gulped as the eerie orange light reflected off of one of his unusually long incisors.

His voice was as smooth as silk as he murmured "can't a man take an interest in a pretty girl?" He smirked at the blush that crept across her cheeks as he stalked towards her.

Rachel glanced down at her scuffed boots. She wasn't really sure how it had happened but she was pretty sure her alleged attacker was actually…hitting on her? The worst part was that she was blushing! What was wrong with her? She had to stop. Now. He may be a handsome charmer but Rachel's gut instinct had told her he was creepy and she trusted her gut instinct. "No. He can't." She replied curtly, sending a challenging stare "not this pretty girl anyways." She made to move past him saying "now, if you'll excuse me I'm on my way h-"

The man wrapped his deathly cold hand around her tiny wrist in a vice-like grip and dragged her to him. Rachel let out a shriek as she collided with his rock solid chest. "What do you think you're _doing_? Let go of me!"

The man smoothed her dark curls away from her face with one of his cold, hard hands. He smiled down at her wickedly as he leaned towards her face. Rachel let out a shrill squeak when she slapped him across his handsome face. Her hand stung and it felt like she had just slapped a brick wall. His face twisted into an angry snarl and his eyes darkened once he realized Rachel hadn't fallen for his…charms. He gripped both her wrist and held them at her sides as he hissed into her face "this is going to happen one way or another- might as well enjoy it, sweetheart."

Rachel grew furious, so much so that she could barely see straight. She began to scratch, slap and claw blindly at his magnificent face as it bore down on hers. "Let…me…go!" She screeched, twisting and turning in his iron grip. Just then she felt a sharp pinch at the base of her neck, where it met her right shoulder. She gasped "ouch! Wh-"

Before she could finish her last word there was a dull thud sound and Rachel watched as the cold, vicious light drained from the horrible man from the subway's eyes and his skin seemed to crumble and turn to dust before her. She was baffled as she gaped down at the large pile of, what looked like the contents of a dust bag from the vacuum cleaner, on the pavement. Rachel watched in fascination as a light breeze picked up and scattered the dust further down the street. She hoisted her handbag up over her shoulder and glanced up. That's when she jumped and screamed…again. There, standing just behind the spot her assailant had turned to dust, stood another man. He seemed to be around her age, perhaps a year or two older. With dark, close cropped hair, a healthy tan and mysterious hazel eyes. He had broad shoulders and was tall. He also seemed better built then the creep from the subway. This new guy was wearing a long, black trench coat that swayed (thanks to the light, but still bitingly cold breeze) around his calves. His gaze was dark and locked on hers, studying her reaction.

Rachel shivered "d-did you just see that?" She asked gesturing towards the empty space between them where the creep had stood and then pointing at the dusty ground at her feet.

The guy's eyes were still trained on hers as he simply replied "yes."

She narrowed her eyes, suspicious of his tense stance. Her gaze slowly travelled further down his body and that's when she spotted the wooden stick in his hand. She paused for a second as things slowly started to click into place in her mind. Rachel shook her head, her dark curls bouncing about her face, "oh no…No, no, no, no, no!" She waved a bruised hand at the stick "no! That was _not_, I mean, _he_ was not- was he?" She felt panic begin to swell up inside of her. The guy made a move to come towards Rachel but she stumbled backwards and cried "don't touch me!"

His feet froze and his eyes softened a little as they took note of Rachel's state of despair. He lifted a hand towards her "your neck, it's…" his deep, husky voice trailed off.

She lifted a hand and gingerly touched the spot at the base of her neck that was still stinging from her encounter with the creep. She felt a warm dampness beneath her fingers. She drew her hand away and saw the glistening warm blood coating her fingertips. Rachel felt her stomach lurch and she swayed a little. Suddenly she felt quite dizzy. "Oh dear…" she murmured quietly to herself as she tried to stay calm and keep her balance. Warm, strong arms encircled her and she felt grateful, if a little embarrassed, towards this new guy.

So, okay, Rachel could at least admit to herself that she may possibly have enjoyed being carried to her building. The guy refused to let her walk after she had 'almost fainted'. Pfft! _Faint_, Rachel Berry does not _faint_! When she had told him where her building was he raised his eyebrows and smirked at her.

"That's where I know you from. You're the girl that's moved in across the hall from me." He lowered one eyebrow but kept the other raised roguishly as he murmured sexily "hey."

Rachel swallowed loudly and frowned. She was trying not to notice, from her perch in his arms, how the stubble that covered his chiselled jaw made him look like some sort of modern day Greek god. "How have I never met you before now then? I moved in to my apartment like three months ago."

He shrugged "I work at nights and don't get out much during the days. I'm Puck, though."

She smiled shyly at him and replied "Rachel Berry…" She paused "look, about that guy earlier…and my neck…and that-was that a _wooden stake_?"

Puck met her questioning gaze and simply asked "what do you think happened?"

Rachel blinked. "I- well… he- it was sort of… No, it wasn't. I don't believe it." She shook her head and raised her eyebrows defiantly at Puck's sceptical stare. She shrugged finally as the silence wore on and they approached their building, "_but_, let's just say, for _argument's_ sake, that I did think the creep from the subway was in fact a-a _vampire_? What exactly does that make you Mr Puck?" She couldn't even believe she was having this conversation.

He scoffed at the title she'd given him and smirked down at her "it's just Puck, as in Noah _Puck_erman. If, _theoretically_, that _was _a vampire then that would make _me_ a vampire hunter." His hazel eyes were no longer watching where he walked as he focused all his attention on her reaction.

He must have been sorely disappointed as her reaction wasn't exactly understanding, when she snorted "oh, yeah, _right_ and I'm a unicorn."

Puck stopped at the front of their building and lowered Rachel to her feet. She immediately missed his warmth and the safety of his big, strong arms. They both made their way to the rickety elevator and once inside, Puck turned to frown down at her. "Rachel, don't be such an idiot. You can't seriously think that the leech who bit you back there and then turned to dust as soon as I staked him _wasn't_ a vampire. There's no other fucking conclusion!"

She huffed "look, I knew I'd meet many strange individuals upon moving to the Big Apple. I realize that you _may_ believe that these _'vampires'_ exist bu-"

Puck threw his head back against the barriers behind him. "God, Rachel. Just- seriously, think about what happened… just for two seconds and you'll get it."

She looked at her red painted nails and recalled the night's events… It was true, it all seemed very vampire-ish…but who's to say it all wasn't some huge coincidence? She kept falling back on the stake and dust incident. That was harder to explain- pretty much impossible to explain really. She bit her lower lip and looked up at Puck. "Fine. You win. Vampires exist. Congratulations, you have out-debated both logic and me. I hope you're happy." She deadpanned and stared at the shuddering metal barriers surrounding the old elevator. There was a long silence that hung in the air between them before Rachel looked over at Puck. "So, you kill vampires? Vampires like…like Dracula?" She felt so foolish for even entertaining the idea, a part of her was convinced that at any second she'd be told that she was being Punk'd.

Puck smirked "yeah…something like that."

Rachel looked down at the keys in her hand as they stepped out of the elevator and onto their floor. "So, you must save a lot of stupid girls, like me, that get bitten by the…uh…vampires."

Puck shook his head as they slowly made their way to her door. "I'm usually too late." She could hear the bitterness in his voice as he admitted that. "Or the girls are under the fucking leeches control and there's nothing that I can say or do that will convince them that their boyfriend, the guy I just staked, was a bad person." He squinted curiously down at Rachel "most girls are really into vampires. Thanks to the whole vampire entertainment industry, girls are convinced that vampires are just 'misunderstood' and really they are beautiful, caring people." Puck sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "It makes me so fucking frustrated sometimes…"

Rachel recalled the countless books she had read and television shows she had loved all based on the myth that vampires existed. They didn't seem so mythical now… She raised her hand to gently press against the tender spot on her neck and winced. They finally reached the door to her apartment. She fiddled with the "I heart NY" key ring holding all her keys in her hands.

Puck stopped beside her and smirked down at Rachel. "You're different though. You didn't really seem to fall for him."

Rachel flicked a stray curl over her shoulder and sighed dramatically "well, what can I say? I find myself bored of charming, handsome strangers that have a nasty violent streak… call me crazy!"

He laughed a deep throaty chuckle and Rachel felt herself go a little weak at the knees. Considering the night she'd had this needed to stop like, right that second. She stopped messing with her keys and blinked up shyly into Puck's hazel eyes. "Look," she started softly "I'm so grateful for…_everything_ you did for me this evening but after what happened with that-the guy…I just, would you mind if I didn't invite you in? I know that's really rude, I'm sorry. I think I need to be by myself and, you know, process everything that happened." She caught her lower lip between her teeth and watched his reaction, hoping he wouldn't be hurt. Her Dad's would be furious if they heard that she'd not invited her hero/ neighbour/ potential new friend in for coffee, it was such bad manners.

However, Puck just smiled a genuine smile down at her and nodded "of course, I didn't expect you to invite me in. A word to the wise, though? Do not invite strangers you've known for less than an hour into your place. It's sort of asking for trouble." He watched as she rolled her eyes, silently making fun of herself for thinking New York would have the same neighbourly rules as Lima, Ohio. She fit her key in the lock and opened the door as he made his way across the hall to his apartment door. He looked over his shoulder and saw her standing in her doorway. He smirked at her "goodnight Miss. Berry."

Rachel smiled shyly back at him as she began to close her door "goodnight Noah." She shut the door on his charming smile and friendly eyes. Resting her back against her door she sighed. Sliding down to sit on the floor she tossed her bag and keys aside and kicked off her boots. "So, what happened to you tonight Rachel?" She asked herself as she unfastened her cape. "Me? Oh, nothing much… got attacked by a vampire, met the male super model version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer that just so happens to be my neighbour." She snorted and ran a hand through her hair. Who was she kidding? Nobody was _ever_ going to believe her.

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><p>AN: There you have it! I always find I get so nervous when I start a new story! Thank you so much for reading, let me know if you enjoyed it or if you hated it or any ideas you have...whatever! I love hearing from you guys! Thanks again! :)


	2. Lucky Panties

A/N: Right, okay, first of all, apologies. I'm so sorry I've been the worst updater ever but my muse is a bitch and also I've spent more time this year taking test and sitting exams than I feel I have spent breathing so I've had very little time to write anything.

Secondly... This is it. My first ever _real_ smutty chapter and holy crap am I terrified of the reaction I'm going to get! I've been putting off writing the next chapter of Journey because I knew it needed smut but I haven't ever written smut before and I have nothing really to, um, refer to from real life (or at least _my_ real life!). So here it is: My first ever attempt at smut... God, I hope you guys don't hate it...but if you do can you at least tell me so that I'll know?

Thirdly, I have tried to reply to my three lovely reviewers but it won't let me. For some reason I couldn't send you a reply so I'm going to thank you here instead! Thanks to DarlingEmory, Anonymous and CrazyLioness6 and thank you to everyone who alerted it, favorited it and just simply read it! You're all awesome! :)

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><p>Puck turned up the collar of his black leather jacket and rubbed his hands together as he jogged through the front door of his building on a frosty morning in late January. He was fucking wrecked after busting the Vampire suck-fest in Chinatown at four in the morning. He thought he'd be able to get home and pass out without any more hassle but no. At the same time his heightened hearing picked up the sound of familiar melodious laughter his skin began to prickle and grow warm. Considering the unseasonable almost sub-zero temperatures outside he could only reach one conclusion. He was fucking sick of this conclusion as well. Sure enough, as he rounded the corner to the wall that held all of the buildings resident's mailboxes, there she was in a shit hot tight skirt smiling and…<em>giggling<em> up at some guy. Not just any guy though. Oh no, if Pucks now burning hot skin was any indication, the dude was another fucking parasite. He swore to God she was going to be the death of him. She was enough of a distraction with her mile long legs and megawatt smile; he didn't need her added ability to attract every fucking vampire in Brooklyn.

Puck rolled his eyes as Rachel began to give the leech her number and started batting her ridiculously long eyelashes up at the bastard. Not that, you know, he had ever noticed her eyelashes or anything, badass vampire hunters did not waste their time thinking about chicks eyelashes. He tried not to let his gaze travel back down her body and appreciate her soft curves before storming over to the couple. "Rachel." He greeted her coldly and his neighbour blinked her huge brown eyes up at him with a happy smile on her face until she caught sight of his icy glare. Her eyes narrowed suddenly and after a moments assessment of his stance her jaw dropped. She looked from Puck to the blood sucker before her and back to Puck again "oh come_ on_! _Seriously_?" She stomped a small foot on the linoleum floor and grumbled quietly to herself "how on earth is a girl supposed to get a date around here if you keep killing them all?" Puck had quickly surveyed their surroundings and knew that it was just the three of them around. The flirting douchebag looked more than a little confused as he began to quiz Puck "I'm sorry, who exactly do you thi-" Puck wished he had his trench coat on, it had a customized stake dispenser in the right sleeve, made inconspicuous staking a fuckload easier. Still, he whipped the spare stake from the back pocket of his jeans and casually plunged the wood through the fucker's undead heart.

The blood was rushing through Puck's veins and he felt the usually spurt of adrenaline he always felt after he dusted a vamp. He looked over at Rachel who had been standing on the other side of the now dusty void. She was pouting her soft, full lips as she inspected her ash covered shirt.

"Noah!" She growled and Puck had the barely controllable urge to grab the angry midget and sling her over his shoulder just so he could go all cave man on her and drag her back to his apartment. "Look at my outfit! I _liked_ this blouse!" He frowned at the offending article. He preferred what she wore that early morning last week when she'd knocked on his door asking if she could borrow some sugar. She'd been wearing nothing more than an over-sized t-shirt and a hopeful smile.

He shook his head trying to clear his thoughts "well whose fault is that?" He demanded angrily "_you _are the one_ I_ have to keep stopping from giving your number to every blood sucker you meet!"

Rachel narrowed her gaze and pointed a very small, very angry finger at him "that was _one_ other time! He told me he needed it for a form."

Puck groaned and rubbed his tired eyes as he moved towards his mailbox "you have zero street smarts Berry."

He heard her indignant gasp and raised a dark eyebrow "Rach, need I remind you of the time that bum asked if you wanted tickets for that musical, you know the one with all the cats or whatever, and you gave him your credit card- only to have him swipe the thing through his _ass crack_? Really Rach?"

Rachel was red with rage but Puck just couldn't help himself. Fighting with Rachel Berry was the best part of his day, especially if she used her growly sex voice when she said his name. She stomped up to him so that they were almost standing chest to chest when she narrowed her eyes to narrow slits of brown and hissed "you make it_ very_ hard for me to like you Noah." She then spun on her heel, swishing her long dark curls in his face. He bit back a groan at the sight of her perfectly rounded ass swaying in her tight skirt as she strutted to the elevator. It had been three long months since he had first met the constant damsel in distress that lived next door to him. It was times like these, when Rachel left him swallowing the words "well, you make me _very_ hard full stop" that made Puck question why the fuck he hadn't made a move already. He was a badass vampire hunter who just had to walk into a bar to have girls offer him sex (and lots of it) but girls like Rachel didn't just hook up with random guys they met in bars. He shook his head and pulled out a stack of heavy white envelopes, each with a blood-red, wax seal from his mailbox. He sighed; this was why he couldn't ask her out. Not that he wants to, you know, ask her out-he hadn't ever even considered asking her out. Ever. Fuck, he was going to give himself a migraine… At the end of the day, he was a vampire hunter and she was basically a bat shit crazy midget. Every time he went two days without seeing her he worried she'd been killed by one of the sons of bitches. He wasn't supposed to _worry_ about people! He was meant to sleep all day, get his mail, follow up on whatever hits The Council put out, go kick some vampire ass and then come back home and do it all over again (well, with a lot of sex and booze thrown somewhere in between). Worrying about some Broadway diva with a pretty smile did not factor in to his plan whatsoever. Besides, Rachel seemed to be able to attract every vampire in a five mile radius. He couldn't leave her alone for two seconds and some blood sucker was flirting with her. But for arguments sake, if he did _hypothetically_ want to have dinner and he just happened to want to ask Rachel if she wanted dinner too he couldn't because he was always in such deep shit. Rachel was already too involved in the undead world. He just wanted to keep her safe. There had to be a way that he could know, no matter where she was, if she was near trouble- _not_ that that shit didn't seem to follow her all the time anyways. As he passed Rachel's apartment door and moved towards his own he heard her practising for her solo in some Broadway musical. He sighed and shook his head. He needed a drink.

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><p>Rachel glared out at the torrential rain on a bleak February evening. It was Friday night…date night. Stupid dates…stupid people that <em>had<em> dates… In a bid to distract her from the depressing, gorge-herself-on-vegan-ice-cream inducing loneliness that occurred most Friday nights, she filled each date night with a rigorous jog in Central Park or a long rehearsal for whatever musical was approaching. She heaved a long-suffering sigh and sent daggers at the dark storm clouds hovering over Brooklyn. It seemed like both options were out of the question tonight. Rachel slowly wandered around her apartment at a loss as to what to do. Well, she was actually trying to avoid remembering she had a huge pile of laundry waiting for her. There was a considerably large pile of clothes, an entire outfit covered in ash thanks to Puck staking this guy that was in the process of asking her out. Stupid Puck… Her shoulders slumped and she let out a long-suffering sigh. She supposed she had no choice really: Laundry it was.

As the elevator made its slow descent to the basement Rachel contemplated her hatred for laundry. She decided it was not just because it was too much effort washing, sorting, drying, ironing and folding but it was also time consuming _and_ the laundry room always grossed her out. She surveyed the dank, white-washed walls and the peeling linoleum on the floor. She shuddered, who knew what kind of dirty little secrets the washing machines had cleaned away? She poured the detergent in with her clothes and closed the washing machine door. _Technically_ she knew that there'd have to have been any amount of ash from Puck's endless supply of black trench coats clogging up the washing machine filters and realistically that was probably as dirty as the secrets this laundry room washed away would get. Still, she didn't know her neighbours they could all be homicidal maniacs. Imagine using the same washing machine as a homicidal maniac. Or even just a normal maniac… Rachel shook herself and tried not to dwell on the fact that considering she was the resident that believed in the existence of vampires she was probably the maniac out of all of her neighbours. Except for Puck of course, she was fairly confident that he had to be the buildings only Vampire Hunter. He didn't really seem all that manic… she remembered only the day before how he had held the door open for her as she had struggled with her shopping and then had insisted on carrying her bags up to her apartment even though she had assured him repeatedly that she was perfectly capable of carrying a few groceries in to an elevator and down the hall to her place. She tried to suppress a small smile. Loathed as she was to admit that she actually liked having him come to her rescue constantly she had to accept that she certainly appreciated the help.

Rachel was humming contentedly to herself as she folded her now washed and dry laundry, when a familiar deep voice sounded from behind her. "So, you don't have any plans tonight either then."

She spun around and realized for the first time ever how small the laundry room was. Puck managed to fill up so much space with his broad shoulders and tall stature. She cringed and turned back to her folding "not that it's any of your business, Noah, but no. I don't have any plans other than to get this _mountain_ of washing out of the way and catch up on the shows I had Tivo'd." Rachel sighed as she had finally gathered all of her washing neatly into her basket. She turned to leave and that's when her eyes widened and she froze, unable to move.

Noah Puckerman had just tugged off his black t-shirt and thrown it into the washing machine with the rest of his clothes. Rachel squeaked and fumbled a little, dropping the heavy pink basket filled with clothes that she had been clutching to her chest. Puck turned to raise an eyebrow at her after starting the washing machine. A pink blush flooded her cheeks and she couldn't seem to tear her gaze away from his well-defined abs and muscled arms. His stare fell to the floor at Rachel's feet now covered in her clothes. He tried to suppress the smirk that threatened to slide across his face as she suddenly snapped out of her reverie. Her brown eyes widened impossibly further as she laughed nervously. She looked down at her empty hands and seemed to just notice that her clothes were scattered all over the floor. She tried not to think about the fact that Puck was basically built like the statue of David by Michelangelo…only better if that was even possible. She couldn't even be certain if she hadn't drooled just a little when she'd been openly gawking at him. She shook herself and fell to her knees to gather up her washing. "I'm such a klutz!" She laughed nervously trying to fill the awkward silence that had stretched between them.

Puck scooped up a dusky pink, silk blouse and seemed to recognize it from earlier in the week when she had given out to him for covering it in vampire ash. As he ran his fingers across the silky material he raised an eyebrow at Rachel "you know if you stopped hanging out with vampires you'd have a whole lot less laundry to do."

Rachel glanced up at his handsome face, with his chiselled jaw and sculpted features, his trademark mischievous smirk may have told her that he was teasing her but the altogether too serious look in his hazel eyes told her he really did worry about her. God, she really wished he'd worry about her with a shirt on, it was very difficult to not let her gaze stray from his penetrating stare to the hard planes of his abs. She reached out and snatched the blouse from his grasp and inspected it. It was quite a relief to realize that ash_ did_ in fact wash out quite easily.

"It's not _my_ fault! _They_ keep finding _me_! How am I supposed to know whether or not people I don't know secretly suck blood in their spare time and have an aversion to splinters?" Rachel snapped from her position on the floor. She was embarrassed and a little distracted by the thin strip of hair that travelled from his navel, down before disappearing into his jeans. She couldn't help it if she was being snippy; it was his fault for coming in here and whipping his shirt off.

Puck shrugged and turned back to sort out his next batch of washing. Rachel gasped softly when she noticed the white scars that marred his back…his really hot back. She wasn't sure if she'd ever found a guys back to be particularly sexy before but she couldn't deny that the hard set of his broad shoulders and the smooth, taut, tanned skin was sinfully sexy. She bit her lower lip and dreaded to think about how exactly Puck had gotten the nasty scars on his back.

"I'm workin' on it" his gravelly voice stated.

Rachel blinked, confused. She picked up her now full basket and carried it to the doorway. "Wait, what? What are you working on?"

Puck turned back to face her and replied "I'm working on something that will help the both of us know when you're around one of the fucking leeches. I dunno what the hell is in your blood Berry, but I'd nearly have a full time job keeping _you_ alive never mind protecting the rest of Brooklyn."

Rachel rolled her eyes and shifted the washing basket to rest on her hip "Noah, you're exaggerating. Besides, I'm starting to get used to them now."

Puck gaped open-mouthed at her and her apparent blasé attitude towards the sick bastards trying to suck her dry every other day. He had to raise his voice over the loud whirr of the washing machine cycle. "I'm not exaggerating. Rachel, I'm deadly serious. I've caught you getting pally with _three _vampires in the last fortnight. Most chicks don't see one, if _any_, in their entire lives!"

Rachel shook her bangs from her eyes as she breezily replied "yes, yes but normally they're dead after they meet their first one so it'd be quite difficult to see another. Don't you think?"

Puck scowled and turned to remove his wet clothes and toss them into the tumble dryer. "Look, can you at least _try_ and stop talking to blood sucking strangers until I sort something out? You're gonna end up giving me a fucking heart attack one of these days."

Rachel threw a smile over her shoulder "can't make any promises, but I'll try my hardest to keep out of trouble." He chuckled and she started out into the corridor leading towards the elevator when she heard his husky voice murmur her name from close behind her. She whipped around and found herself blinking at Puck's left pec. He was standing so close to her that she could see that faint white bight marks also scarred his chest. The bight marks all had unusually long incisors and Rachel felt a pang somewhere in the vicinity of her heart as she imagined how painful each bight must have been. She shivered as she imagined what it would be like to kiss each one of his old wounds better. She slowly tilted her head back to meet his heated hazel stare.

"Yes?" She breathed softly. Being in such close proximity to Puck without a shirt was having a detrimental effect on her brain activity. She could already feel her IQ lowering substantially. Any second now she was going to do something ridiculous like kiss the underside of his stubbly jaw.

He held up a large tanned hand and Rachel let out a loud squeak when she noticed what was dangling from his calloused index finger. He was holding a wisp of deep purple lace that Rachel had titled her 'Lucky Panties' after one eventful day including an aced audition and a tequila fuelled celebration. Her face heated and she gasped. Could she deny they were hers? How could she? Of _course_ they were hers!

"See you later Rach…" He murmured after she had snatched her panties from his hand. She mumbled something incoherent and fled the laundry room trying to calm her embarrassment as she scurried away.

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><p>Puck was close to figuring out how to get the small tracking device to recognize a vampire's presence. Well he had to do something to stop himself from thinking about the attractive constant damsel in distress that lived next door. She was a damsel in distress who wore sexy lacy panties and was right across the fucking hall, <em>alone<em> just waiting to have a guy like him blow her fucking mind. He sighed and scrubbed a large hand over his tired his eyes. He'd been through this a million times in his head. He was not going to screw shit up with Rachel and that was that. He got up from the solid wooden desk and made his way to his bedroom, contemplating a power nap before he headed out to hunt again. As he threw himself on the bed he heard a door close softly next door. His Hunter senses meant his hearing could surpass any normal humans. His and Rachel's apartments were at the end of the hall which meant they shared one wall. Puck didn't mind, in fact, he kind of enjoyed hearing Rachel pottering about next door and practising her solos. The only time how paper thin their wall was had ever really bothered him was over the Christmas holidays when she brought home some guy she apparently knew from Ohio. Up until then he'd honestly only considered Rachel as a nice piece of ass who needed saving _all_ the time. However, hearing her moaning on the other side of that wall while some other fucking douchebag was inside her made jealousy boil in the pit of his stomach. Puck had to come to terms with the fact that he might possibly want Rachel Berry, the midget that lived next door, for more than just a fuck. Not that it was hard to see why. He had seen her often enough lately to know that she had a body made for sin, with soft curves and long legs. Who was he even kidding? She was a walking wet dream. He thought back to the laundry room earlier and remembered how her eyes had darkened when she'd seen him without a shirt on. Fine, maybe he hadn't _necessarily_ needed to wash that particular shirt and had just wanted to see Rachel's reaction. He just hadn't expected the sight of her blushing and fumbling to inspire the uncontrollable urge within him to lift her up on top of the tumble dryer and fuck her until she screamed his name. Shit, even the way she said his _name_ in her soft, breathy voice made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Nobody called him Noah anymore. It was nice. Fuck! He had to go out… Stake a vampire, get drunk, do _something_…

That's when he heard. The soft moan from the other side of his bedroom wall. Wait. What? Rachel couldn't be making sexy noises, she didn't have plans tonight. (Not that he remembered her telling him that earlier or anything. That would be weird and not at all badass.) She couldn't have invited some guy up to her room in that space of time. Knowing his luck, she definitely did and it would be a fucking vampire too. He grew perfectly still and strained to listen carefully. He could hear her breathless gasps and moans and the distinct sound of something buzzing.

Holy fucking shit. She was using a vibrator. The second that image had painted itself in his mind he was instantly, painfully hard. He heard her suck in a breath and sigh as she shifted about on her bed covers. Before he even had time to register what he was doing he had his cock in his hand and his jeans pushed down around his knees. He squirted lotion he'd grabbed from the drawer in his bedside table into the palm of his hand and took a moment to acknowledge the fact that he hadn't had to rub one out since high school. He got pussy whenever he wanted so what the fuck was he doing alone in his- he heard a breathless whimper from next door and before he can argue further with himself he stroked his rock hard length. He could just imagine her, writhing on her bed, her full lower lip caught in between her teeth as she tries (and fails miserably) not to make a sound. He tightened his grip as he wondered what would happen if there was no wall between them, if it was Rachel's soft, plump lips wrapped around his aching cock. He pumped his fist slowly up and down his shaft as he imagined her little pink tongue tasting him for the first time. Next door, Rachel's moans started to sound more like keens and she was mumbling half-finished words just trying to reach her climax. Puck swallowed a curse as he tightened his grip on his cock further and imagined her throat swallowing, contracting her mouth working his shaft. He started to pump his fist faster. He was trying to keep his groans to a minimum but the noises Rachel was making next door were making it pretty hard…literally. Suddenly she let out a breathless, shuddering cry and just the idea of her sending herself over the edge like that and the sound of her gasping and moaning would have been enough to get him off but then he heard her murmur his name in between breathless pants and it was too much. Puck didn't even last two pumps after that. He bit out a curse and came harder than he had in a long time. He sat there on his bed panting, trying not to dwell on how hard he came just _thinking_ about her. What the fuck would he be like if he ever got the chance with her? He heard the hum of her shower next door and swallowed. The thought of water running down Rachel's tight body-fuck. He was half hard again. How the fuck was he ever going to ever get anything done if he was always so fucking _hard_ for her? Fuck it, he'd better try and to fix up that stupid tracker for her so that he'll at least have _some _chance of her being alive long enough for him to make a move. Eventually. Maybe.

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><p>AN: So...there you go! Depending on the reaction I get from this chapter you _could_ get more smut next chapter but that's _only_ if you guys want it. If this was way cringe-worthy or whatever I get it. So, please let me know what you think and thanks so much for reading! :)


	3. Thriller

A/N: So! Yes... I suck at updating. I have many excuses, such as my laptop dying and having to be sent to the laptop equivalent of the Elephant Graveyard (so sad) and French Orals and turning twenty (which btw is hard, leaving le teenagedom behind is difficult!) but yeah I'm back and I've brought quite possibly my longest chapter of anything ever as a sorry I suck at uploading chapters gift. I hope this is okay. I've been super busy and these are just bits of ideas I had for the story that I wrote down whenever I got a chance and then linked them together. Also there's one scene in particular in here that I wrote in like September in the back of my English copy which sort of inspired me to write this at all. Anyways, yeah, so I do hope this is okay... my English teacher recently told me that I was never, _ever_ to write a fictional story _ever_ again because basically I suck at them. Which...was a little disheartening...still, if you guys hate it I figure you'll tell me, right? Thanks so much for reading, favouriting and/or commenting. You guys are literally the bestest ever!

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><p>Rachel surveyed the contents of her closet. She had decided that enough was enough. She could not allow herself to have a…a <em>crush<em> on an emotionally unavailable vampire hunter. Sure, she could admit that she had always found bad boys to have some sort of _appeal_ but her neighbour, the one with the shoulders…and the arms…she shook her head and frowned at the rack of dresses in her closet. She was not allowing herself to think about the neighbour-who-shall-not-be-named at all…ever…because while he _looked_ incredibly desirable, his habit of teasing her was less so. Also, he spent a great deal of his time being furious with her for no good reason. She needed to get over him. However, thanks to the neighbour-who-shall-not-be-named and his Greek God 'let me just strip right here in front of you in the laundry room' moment, Rachel was finding the not thinking about him thing a lot more difficult than she had anticipated. So she decided to finally let Kurt set her up on all those dates he had just been dying to set her up with ever since she'd moved to New York. It really couldn't hurt anything and it was worth a try.

Puck's eyes widened when Rachel flung open her front door, her cheeks flushed and eyes meticulously made up. The main reason for his surprise and growing discomfort was that Rachel was standing there in this tiny black lace slip. His mouth watered and his hands itched to trace the soft curves of her body hidden beneath silk and lace. She was trying to fucking kill him. She had to be. Rachel had so much long, toned leg on display he had to wonder what the fuck that slip was meant to be covering. He could hazard a guess at not a whole fucking lot.

"N-Noah!" She stuttered breathlessly "I-I thought you were Kurt. Sorry. Um." She glanced back into her apartment and then looked down at herself as if just realizing how little she was wearing. A soft pink blush crept up her neck and bloomed in her cheeks. "Let me just- uh- come in and I'll just go –um- put clothes on."

Puck frowned. She wanders around in just her underwear in front of this Kurt dude? He stepped inside and noticed that Rachel had really made the shitty little apartment look nice. It was all exposed brick and warm colours with soft comfy furniture. She waved at the faded couch in front of a small flat screen TV as she hurried off further into her apartment.

He sat down and called after Rachel "isn't Kurt gay?"

Rachel reappeared, zipping up a little purple dress. She nodded warily "yes…why?"

Puck heaved a semi-relieved sigh and then shrugged "uh-nothing." He was not going to ever admit to Rachel that he had been checking to see if her gay friend was in fact competition he should be aware of. Or anything along those lines…because that would not be very badass. He stood up and crossed the tiny living room area in two steps. Standing in front of Rachel he held out his fist and opened it palm up without saying a word.

Rachel looked at his large calloused hand and gasped softly. There in the centre of his outstretched palm lay a small, silver Star of David pendant on the end of a fine silver chain. He watched as her eyes lit up before she looked up and met his gaze, slight confusion in her eyes.

"Is that…for _me_?" She bit her lower lip, unsure about how to react.

Puck just shrugged and replied gruffly "yeah, but it's just the vampire detector thing I told you I was working on."

He stared as her tiny tapered fingers plucked the chain out of his hand and she inspected the miniscule switchboard on the back of the small silver star.

"That's really impressive Noah," she breathed "it's beautiful."

Puck tried hard not to remember the sounds he had heard coming from the other side of his bedroom wall a few nights earlier. He really did try not to let his gaze slide from her bent head to her cleavage which the tight material of her dress clung to. He wondered why she was so dressed up.

"Look, just promise you'll wear it okay? I can't know if you're in trouble unless you're wearing it." He shrugged secretly a little proud of his kick ass invention. Any time the necklace was within twenty foot of a vampire the chain would send out a signal to Puck's phone.

Rachel smiled and nodded before asking him to fasten it for her. He could barely suppress his broad grin. She actually seemed to like it. She turned her back to him and swept her long, soft curls out of his way. She shivered a little when his fingers brushed against the nape of her neck as he fastened the clasp of the chain. He smirked and purposefully stroked a single calloused finger down along the curve of her neck. Rachel shivered again and sighed. Puck breathed across the back of her neck. Before he had time to react she had spun around to face him. He saw how her eyes had darkened and she tilted her head looking curiously up at him.

Rachel blinked and murmured softly "Noah…"

That's when a sharp knock on the door sounded and Puck cursed the universe's bad fucking timing. Rachel jumped back and looked guiltily from Puck to the door. Then she squared her shoulders and sighed "it must be Kurt…"

After a flurry of cheek kissing and squealing over Rachel's dress, Puck heard Rachel's friend excitedly ask "are you ready for your date?"

Well, he knew his good mood and unusually calm interaction with Rachel couldn't last forever. He felt his blood pressure rising and a jealous twinge somewhere in his chest and he sighed. He got up from the couch just as Kurt spotted him.

"Rachel, you didn't tell me you had a…friend over!" The young man in what looked like some sort of cape eyed Puck up.

Rachel embarrassedly introduced them and Puck simply nodded before turning to Rachel. "Guess I'd better let you get ready for your date then."

Rachel blushed, feeling a little guilty. She briefly met Puck's hazel gaze before nodding and biting her lower lip. She walked him the extra step to the door before murmuring "and thank you Noah" as she fiddled with her new chain.

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><p>Sighing, Rachel rubbed the back of her neck trying to loosen up the tense knots that had built up over the course of her very unproductive date. It had been a total waste of nice underwear and uncomfortable heels. As she rooted around in her purse to find her keys she contemplated the nice, long, hot bubble bath and glass of wine she was going to reward herself with. She should have some sort of a reward for having survived that date without stabbing the pretentious man with his own fork. She shook her head to try and release her pent up frustration as she unlocked her door and slipped inside her apartment. The second she had closed the door she froze. Someone was there. In the apartment. In <em>her <em>apartment. Oh God. Oh God… She couldn't see anyone but she could _feel_ it…All the lights were off, nobody else had a key. She was being burgled. Or what if he was a murderer- a _burgling murderer_? She arranged her keys so that the jagged edge of her house key was poking out from between her fingers and she balled her hand into a fist. Her first interaction with a vampire had taught her that she really had no idea how to protect herself whatsoever. So she'd been taking self-defence classes twice a week, every week for the past five months. She pretended to calmly turn the light on even though her heart was thundering so loudly she was sure the sound was echoing around her apartment. Then she spun around and faced her open plan apartment and held her fists up. The sight that greeted her made her blood boil and she dropped her fighting stance.

"_Noah!_" Rachel threw first her keys and then her hand bag at him and shrieked. "What the hell is _wrong_ with you? You do realize that it is common courtesy to wait patiently _outside_ someone's home and knock a couple of times, don't you? How many times do I have to tell you that it is not any kind of courtesy to sit creepily in the dark _waiting for me_?" She trailed off mid-rant as he began to stalk towards her, his heavy boots making loud thudding noises against the floor. She swallowed and tried to back away but ended up with her back pressed against the door. "N-Noah, uh…"

His hazel stare was dark, his brows furrowed as he growled "where the fuck is it?"

Rachel gaped up at him. He was glowering just inches in front of her, his gaze roving her neck. "I-I don't…what?" She blinked nervously, his urgency was frightening her.

"The necklace, Rach, where is it?" Puck demanded as his hazel eyes blazed right through her.

She lifted her hand to her bare throat and paled. Biting her lower lip, she tried to smile anxiously "oopsies?"

Puck looked like he wanted to punch something. She was confident that no matter how angry he got (which was _a lot_ and frequently so) he would never hurt her. Still, Rachel had only just had the hole in the wall plastered after the _last_ time he got mad. Her mind scrambled for some words that could make amends. She knew he only wanted to keep her safe. No matter how infuriating his style of doing so was.

"I- I just- after my shower… I must have taken it off and then forgotten. I'm sorry!" She considered the number of times Puck had flown into one of his ridiculous rages over a vampire or two. She contemplated the number of break-ins and breakages her humble abode had been subject to ever since she had met the big, brooding vampire hunter. She bit her tongue. Suddenly, she wasn't so sorry anymore. She squared her shoulders and shoved past his towering bulk as she made her way to the tiny kitchen, toeing off her high heels as she went. "Look, Noah, I'm tired. What do you want?"

His gaze travelled from her red painted toenails, along her delicate feet, past her shapely ankles and long, toned legs. She looked amazing in that red dress. Was it really that wrong that the answer to her question was_ her_? He wanted her so badly she haunted his sleep. He constantly worried if she was okay at any given moment during his waking hours. This worry was only intensified by the fact that her ability to attract all kinds of vampiric trouble was in no way fading. He was going fucking insane and it was all her fault.

He watched as she poured herself a glass of wine and lifted it to her full, red painted lips. Normally, when he planned his visits in advance, or knocked before entering, Rachel would offer him a drink too. He was pretty sure that his not being offered a drink meant she was pissed at him. The scowl on her face was another indicator. As she licked her lips and closed her eyes, clearly savouring the taste of her drink, he bit back a wistful groan and instead snapped.

"Rachel, I made you the damned necklace so that I would know if you were ever in trouble. How the fuck will I ever know if you're in trouble if you don't wear the goddamned thing?" He shouted at her, he was so fucking frustrated in every sense of the word whenever he was around her. She infuriated him more than anything he had ever come across before in his life. And he hunted fucking _vampires_ for a living.

Rachel just sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. Shaking her head in disappointment she replied "honestly, Noah, I thought we'd discussed your fondness for profanities. If you insist on constantly being so crass could you at least prevent yourself from doing so in my presence?"

God, the so-called profanities he could make her moan… Normally he liked that she wanted him to be polite. It was cute. Well, you know, the bad ass equivalent of cute. Whatever. He was fucking pissed and he had to keep telling himself that it was not because of the fucking douchebag he saw dropping her home. Still, if his vast experience with angry women had taught him anything it was that they needed to be handled with extreme fucking caution. He took a deep breath.

"Rach," he started as he propped a shoulder against the door frame and sent her a level stare. "You promised to wear the necklace. It's for your benefit."

Rachel put down her glass of wine and heaved a long-suffering sigh "you're over reacting Noah."

Puck could feel the bare ounce of calm he had managed to summon evaporate as his blood began to boil once more and his blood pressure rose. "Rachel! Do I have to remind you of the night we met? No? I don't recall you saying I was 'over reacting' _that_ night!"

Rachel ran a hand through her long, wavy hair and groaned "ugh…yes, Noah, you saved me. If it wasn't for you, I would be vampire dinner. You're right. _But_ I have thanked you a _million_ times! I even baked you 'thank-you-for-not-letting-me-be-brutally-murdered-and-drained-by-that-vampire cookies'! What more could I possibly do for you?"

Puck's mind wandered to a better place. The bedroom he'd heard her moaning his name from once before. (Although, he would be happy with any bedroom, or just a room in general for that matter, as long as Rachel was in it. Naked.) She could do _plenty_ for him there. Fuck. He wished he could stop _thinking_ about her! The Broadway singer was a bat shit crazy, tiny little bundle of frustrating, vampire attracting energy. He tried to make out to her that the only reason he was even looking out for her so much was because a) it was his duty as a vampire hunter and b) he had his best interests at heart because she was the quietest neighbour he'd ever had. Which is the biggest load of bullshit he'd ever heard, never mind spoken. Sure, it was his duty to protect humans from the vampires but Rachel Berry was by far the loudest neighbour he'd ever had. She belted out Broadway tunes at seemingly random times throughout the day; her stereo seemed to know only two volumes: 'loud' and 'so loud the lyrics of each song played are etched into the lining of your brain'. Still, he couldn't complain. Puck found hearing Rachel potter about next door oddly comforting. It was nice to come home to a cold empty apartment in the early hours of the morning and hear Rachel making breakfast and humming away to herself next door.

"I don't need your thanks! All I want is for you to wear the necklace so that if you _once again_ stupidly get yourself into_ another_ situation with a vampire I'll know!"

Rachel narrowed her large brown eyes at him for a second before muttering "fine" in a very clearly _not_ 'fine' voice and storming out of the tiny kitchen area. Puck could hear a door slam and he watched as she stomped back to her place by the glass of wine on the counter.

"Happy?" She demanded placing her hands on her hips.

He looked at the silver necklace. The little Star of David had come in handy more times than he could count in the past month. It was also kind of nice seeing her wearing something he'd given her. Still, she was in such a pissy mood that evening.

"Ecstatic" he bit back.

She actually tutted at him before moving past him to the faded red couch in the living room area. He followed her and sat on the overstuffed ottoman next to her. "What's up Rach? You're not usually so…" He trailed off and swallowed. Talking in general was not his forte. Talking about _feelings _and _emotions_ was basically a no-go. So why was he choosing to dig a hole here? "…uh…tightly wound?"

Rachel raised a dark eyebrow challengingly before sighing and letting her shoulders slump. "It's guy stuff… Kurt has set me up on what feels like a trillion dates in the last five weeks and they have all been horrible disasters." She pouted and frowned slightly before looking up at Puck. "I mean, is it me? Do I talk too much? Have I gotten fat? I don't work out as much as I used to but I take twice as many dance classes and I find I just don't have the time and energy anymore! Or is it the Broadway thing? Do straight guys not like Broadway?"

Puck felt jealousy bubble up inside him but he just grunted and leant forward, placing his elbows on his knees. "Rach, they're all fucking idiots. You look hot like always. Besides, guys dig the Broadway Berry, I should know."

She smiled ruefully at him "well, yes Noah, I know _you_ like Broadway. You've been to see all my workshops but I mean normal guys. You know, ones that don't consider stabbing demons with sticks as a viable career option and punch holes through my walls when they're mad."

Puck felt a slight twinge of something inside. He shouldn't care that she didn't think he was normal. He wasn't, she was right. He even only pretended to be interested in musicals because it was a chance to spend a couple of hours sitting in a darkened room staring at Rachel as she sang her heart out. God, sometimes he sickened himself. He could fight ancient, bloodsucking, sociopathic vampires but he couldn't sum up the guts to either let Rachel go once and for all or actually tell her how he felt. Stupid fucking _feelings_. Still, he couldn't deny the obvious truth. He wasn't normal. So why did it bother him that she thought so too?

"Yeah, you're right Rachel. The 'normal' assholes you've been going out with lately would be _so_ much better for you."

Rachel gaped at him "I never said that! Besides they haven't all been ass-" she stopped herself from repeating the expletive and finished her statement with "jerks."

Puck levelled her with a sceptical look and started "okay, what about the four different vampires you tried to go out with that I had to dust?"

Rachel threw her hands in the air "and here we go with the blood sucking _again_! How was_ I_ supposed to know they were vampires?"

Puck carried on, ticking each date off on his calloused fingers "then there was the druggie…"

Rachel glared at him from her seat and snapped "he was a _reformed_ drug addict, there's a difference!"

"Rach," Puck snorted "he asked me if I had any on me when I met him out in the hall just because I was wearing a trench coat."

She shook her head and folded her arms across her chest "well, I told you only Private Investigators and Drug Dealers wear trench coats these days."

"The gay guy," Puck continued as though she had never interrupted him.

"_He_ didn't even know he was gay!" Rachel shrieked, her face beginning to grow warm- whether the blush was from rage or embarrassment she was unsure.

"The guy was wearing a skirt, Rach, what more did you want him to do? Write it on his forehead?"

She stomped her barefoot against the hard wood floor and gasped in outrage "it was a _kilt_! He was Scottish!"

He ticked off another finger as he nodded "then there was the guy with the secret wife and kids."

Rachel looked at him with beseeching eyes, still feeling a little guilty about that one "i-it was a secret though. How was I to know he had a family?" She shook her head to clear it and zeroed her steely gaze on his hazel eyes. "Look, what have you been doing? Cataloguing all the guys date?"

Puck shrugged "just pointing out the fact that the guys you consider 'normal' are all a lot weirder than I am!" He paused "well, expect for the gay guy, once you got past the skirt he was actually pretty decent."

Rachel reached for her wine glass on the coffee table and snapped "it was a kilt…and his name was Declan."

Puck scrubbed one of his large hands down his tired face and sighed "look, Rach-"

A knock on the door interrupted him and they both glanced at the large clock on the exposed brick wall. Rachel frowned and stood up, smoothing out her dress as she made her way to the door. She looked over her shoulder at Puck and raised an eyebrow. "I wonder who would be calling here at midnight."

Puck just shrugged but still insisted on being the one to open the door. There before him stood an overly polished, pretentious, snobby little- Puck swallowed the insults. Date. This fucking idiot was Rachel's date. Asshole. Rachel beamed up at him from over Puck's shoulder. She then elbowed Puck out of the way and smiled up at the guy.

"Ian! Hi! What are you doing back here again? Did you forget something?" Her brown eyes searched the loser's pasty face. Puck could feel his blood boil and his entire body heat up. God he had to fucking control his jealousy. This was getting ridiculous.

The Ian guy frowned distractedly at Puck before shrugging "yes. Normally, I don't on a first date. But I just can't wait until our next. I must kiss you goodnight."

As Rachel giggled softly Puck rolled his eyes at the bull shit this guy was feeding her. Suddenly Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' started playing on Puck's phone and he sent a quick prayer of thanks to whatever Godly existence was running this fucked up show. Outwardly he simply sent Rachel a look full of 'I told you so' and muttered "for Christ's sake…and you went _out _with him…"

Then Puck lunged for Rachel's coatrack and snapped it in two. Before Ian could do more than snarl at him, Puck had plunged the jagged, wooden half of the coatrack through his chest. Puck watched as the cold light died in the fucker's eyes before he removed the makeshift stake and slammed the door in his already crumbling face.

"_Rachel_! What the fuck did I tell you?"

"_Noah_! My _coatrack_!"

Rachel glared up at him and while normally he would find the fire in her deep brown eyes a turn on, right now he was so angry he could barely see straight. The adrenaline pumping through his veins was really not helping the situation either.

"_Another_ fucking vampire? Jesus H. Christ Rach, do you _want_ to die? Is that what this is?"

She had been picking up the remnants of her coat rack when her eyes snapped back to meet his again. She nearly growled when she threw a chunk of wood at his torso. It missed by, like, a lot, but still.

"Yes, Noah, you are just _so _right! I want to die. Yup. Here I am," she cried and flung a coat at him, which he caught easily "just _begging_ for a stupid _vampire_ to come and kill me! That way I can escape your ridiculous temper tantrums and your big..brooding…" she struggled to find an insult worthy of her anger but came up blank "face!"

She threw the remaining pieces of broken wood at him and glared "this is your _entire_ fault. I'd have been _fine_ if you'd just have left me alone!"

Puck wanted to put his fist through her wall again. The only thing stopping him was that he was pretty sure she'd actually have a heart attack. "You'd be fucking _dead_ if you never met me Rach! You'd have _died months ago_!"

Rachel was angrier than he had ever seen her before. She was panting and her hair was dishevelled from where she'd been running her shaking hands through it. Her eyes were blazing as she stomped towards him. "Well maybe if you'd killed all the vampires like you're _supposed_ to and stopped keeping track of the losers I date maybe _then_ I wouldn't be _in_ this mess!"

There wasn't even a foot between them and yet they still insisted on shouting at each other as Puck yelled "how the fuck am I supposed to focus on my job when keeping you safe takes up all of my time?"

Rachel stomped her barefoot against the floor and cried "I never asked you to keep me safe!"

She opened her mouth to snap out another snarky comment when his hand wrapped around the back of her neck and dragged her towards him. Before Rachel had even realized what was happening Puck's lips had crashed over hers. She squeaked into his mouth before her eyelids fluttered closed. His lips felt strong and warm, his tongue demanding. His hands bracketed her hips. Her far smaller hands had flown to his shoulders and eased up to smooth over the short bristles of hair at the nape of his neck. She sighed a hum of approval as her tongue explored the inside of his mouth. He tasted like coffee. Puck groaned and the frustration that had started their kiss gave way to a whole new passion when he pressed her body against his and she felt the wall against her back. He had to stoop to meet her lips so he lifted her up and she instinctively wrapped her long smooth legs around his hips. Rachel gasped as she felt the hard bulge in his jeans rubbing against her.

It was after his hand had slid up the inside of one of her thighs and his fingers were tracing the line of her panties that Puck's subconscious did something he would never understand. Suddenly he could hear Rachel's melodic voice saying 'normal'. The word echoed, ringing in his ears, bouncing around in his mind. He wasn't a normal guy. He was so far from normal he could barely remember what normal was. Rachel deserved normal at least. She deserved better than normal, she deserved the best. But the absolute least she should have was better than him. Being with him was just going to hurt her in the long run. Even though it almost killed him to do it, he slowly unwrapped Rachel's legs from around him and gently lowered her feet back to the floor. She stopped her enthusiastic kisses and pulled back slightly. Her wide brown eyes searching his face, her lips looked swollen and a little bruised. Puck cupped her cheek and leaned down. He couldn't even kiss her on the lips again or he knew whatever resolve he had would crumble instantly and so he placed a tender kiss on her forehead.

Then he turned and walked out of Rachel's apartment, cursing his stupid fucking subconscious as he went.

Rachel blinked, still propped up against the wall and unsure what exactly had just transpired. She lifted a shaky hand to her still tingling lips. She slid down the wall and sat on her hardwood floor. Perhaps it was the time she had been spending with a certain brooding and complicated vampire hunter, but she couldn't help the shaky "fuck" that escaped her lips. She tilted her head back and leant against the wall. She didn't know what upset her more, the fact that the kiss with the neighbour-who-must-not-be-named had even happened in the first place or that he had stopped. How was she supposed to live next door to him now when she knew he kissed like… there wasn't even anything worthy of being compared to a kiss like that! His kisses should be illegal. She tried not to dwell on the fact that he had left mid-kiss or why he had done so. Instead she shook her head and scrambled to her feet. Wine. She needed wine.

* * *

><p>AN: Hope it was even just a little bit worth the wait (and sorry again)!


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